Distracted Pain
by The Pale States
Summary: Stephanie McMahon's life is saved by a man with many problems. She will soon discover the horrible truth behind them. Rated R for blood and gore.
1. Chapter 1

_-^-_  
  
He was finally here. It had taken him about two years but he had finally come back. After he had left home to find his dream, he hadn't had the courage to come back. But then, he had heard that she was going to be here and he knew that he had to come and see her. He had pined after her for about a year before he had set out to find his fortune. She was so beautiful and intelligent, it was impossible for him not to like her.  
  
Fred Ward stood at the gate in front of Selland Arena in Fresno, California. He was living not far from the arena in Madera. He had traveled back to his home in Madera from Las Vegas where he did his last show. Every where he went in the business, he was told the same thing. He wasn't strong and built enough to be a wrestler.  
  
"Hey buddy, get going," some other wrestling fan growled at him.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Fred said apologetically.  
  
Fred walked through the arena, looking for his seat. He finally found his seat in the front row of the lodge. He sat and went back to his thoughts before the show started.  
  
He picked his ticket out of his pocket in his jeans. He looked at the title of this event. World Wrestling Entertainment: Smackdown! was what it said. It was a televised event. She was supposed to be here as the general manager of the program.  
  
Fred had never been to a televised event before. It was the first time that one had come to Fresno.  
  
I guess they found it big enough.  
  
He shook the thought off as unimportant, and went back to thinking about her. She was incredibly beautiful and intelligent. It was a wonder that she was not married. He had found a interview with her where she said that she was waiting for the right guy to come along until she got married in real life.  
  
The lights dimmed all around the arena and a great roar swept through the crowd like wild fire as the realization hit the fans that the show was now starting. An amazing display of pyrotechnics followed the opening of the show.  
  
The show went on quite well with the matches following all of the storylines and beginning new ones. But there was no sign of her yet. Then he heard her theme music blaring over all the speakers in the arena. He saw her video cascaded upon the TitanTron and then she walked out. The object of his affection. He whispered her name under his breath. The word was filled with the love that he didn't know he held for her. "Stephanie."  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: This is my first fanfic so be kind, but you can send flames if you wish. Thanks for reading. Oh and don't forget to review.  
  
So, until next time my murder (which is a flock of crows btw), same black wings, same damn card. SYWISY.  
  
King of Spades 


	2. Chapter 2

_-^-_  
  
She was beautiful. Her soft, wavy brown hair was cascaded upon her shoulders. She had a soft pink colored blouse and black Dockers on. She swept into the ring gracefully and received a microphone.  
  
"I realize that the position of number one contender for the WWE championship has not yet been named. So tonight, in this very ring, there will be a battle royal between six Smackdown! superstars for the chance to go one on one with the champion at the next pay-per-view, SummerSlam!" she paused for the reaction from the fans.  
  
The fans roared their approval of the match and brought a smile to Stephanie McMahon's face. The smile brightened Fred's heart. The look of her being so happy caused Fred great joy. He had never known why she had always attracted his attention, but she did and their was nothing that he could do about it.  
  
"And the superstars for this match are-" Stephanie started.  
  
"Weeeeelll, Well it's the Big Show," The Big Show's entrance began and interrupted Stephanie's announcement.  
  
There was the huge explosion of pyro that followed with his entrance, but something went wrong. Not only was there the entrance explosion, but many other pyros went off. And they went off right into the crowd.  
  
Fred looked in horror at the scene before him. People were using their final breaths for excruciating screams and people were fleeing away from the fires in madness, stomping many others to death as they ran.  
  
Fred looked up from the death and mayhem and saw something bright coming at him. He went on instinct and dove to the side. Unfortunately he was not quick. The pyrotechnic whizzed right next to his back, obliterating the back of his shirt and destroying his skin. The pain shot through his entire body which caused him to scream in terrible pain. He put his hand to his back and yelped again as the open wound was touch he stared at his hand and saw that it was dripping with his blood. He slowly got to his feet to see a way out. For some reason his eyes wandered to the ring. What he saw, terrified him.  
  
Stephanie was lying in the middle of the ring, unconscious but apparently unharmed. What he saw around her was what made him terrified. Flames were inching their way toward her prone body ready to envelop her in its fiery death grip.  
  
Again, he acted out of instinct. He shot out of his now empty row and down the stairs in a flash. Soon he was racing towards the ring, no longer feeling the pain on his back. He was far to concerned for Stephanie to care.  
  
He finally arrived at the ring. He hopped the padding covered railing and stood in front of the ring. The ropes were bright orange with flames and so was the bottom curtain. Normally he would have given up, but he no longer cared about the pain. He leapt through the ropes.  
  
He barely felt the bright fire that burnt his arms and legs. He crawled quickly over to Stephanie's unconscious body. He swept her into his arms with an arm under her legs and another under her shoulder blades. He gave a swift kick to each rope in front of him and they all tugged free of their supports and fell to the ground below. He gave a great fit of coughs as he realized that he must have swallowed a lot of smoke.  
  
He jumped to the ground and found himself facing the entrance ramp. Fires were all around it so that was out. He turned his head to the left of it and saw an opening. He ran as quickly as he could with the added weight. He eventually arrived at the exit. But was soon knocked to the ground.  
  
Apparently there was a large group remaining and they had the same idea as Fred did. Fred fell to the ground, with Stephanie still out cold in his arms. He put her down in front of him and covered her the best he could with his own body.  
  
The raging group seemed to be endless. They were all stomping all over him. He felt kicks to mostly every part of his body. He definatly felt a hard kick to the ribs and heard cracking and breaking knowing that he would feel that in the morning. Many people also stomped on his right leg and eventually it too gave way and he heard another cracking and breaking, the sound of his leg breaking.  
  
There was pain everywhere now and he was starting to feel numb. He was able to suppress his screams by grinding his teeth; he did not want to waste energy. Every time he felt that he wanted to just lie down and die, he would just look down at Stephanie's beautiful face and feel another surge of energy.  
  
Finally the group subsided and Fred got shakily to his feet, with Stephanie still in his arms and favoring his right leg. He was finally was able to hobble backstage, while coughing and wheezing. He found people being attended to by the paramedics. He hurried over to the station. One noticed him and hurried to him.  
  
"Oh my god," the paramedic exclaimed, "sir please come this way." He motioned to an ambulance.  
  
"Get her first," Fred was able to choke out.  
  
"But sir-"  
  
"Just do it!"  
  
The paramedic no longer protested and put Stephanie on the back of the ambulance. Now that Stephanie seemed to be ok. Everything rushed at Fred at once. All the pain came back at him in one fell swoop.  
  
He staggered back and his right leg gave out from under him. He fell back and hit his head on the concrete floor. His vision soon became darker and darker and then...it was black.  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: That was one of the longest chapters that I have ever written. I hope you liked it. The wrestling storyline was never an actual storyline, I think. Please R&R. :)  
  
So, until next time my murder, same black wings, same damn card. SYWISY  
  
King of Spades 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I have updated the first chapter so don't forget to read it so you don't get lost.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Stephanie woke with the sound of beeping in her head. She wanted to yell to someone to shut that damn noise off, but found that when she tried she just broke out into a fit of horrible coughs that made her throat raw. She looked up and saw her father, Vince, standing over her with a grin on his face.  
  
The only thing that she could remember was a bright, blazing light coming towards her and that was it. She didn't remember anything after that. She did remember however, a dream that she had had while she had been out.  
  
The dream had been set in a beautiful landscape. The wind cooed to the trees and the grass swayed like a green sea. There was a beautiful woman that looked like herself, frolicking in the grass happily. Then there had been a flash of light and an explosion and all had turned dark. Red cloud rolled over the once beautiful sky. The grass was burned dead and the woman was lying among the dead grass, almost dead herself.  
  
Then a great light had parted the blood red clouds and shined upon where she lay. The grass around her came to life again, and a man drifted from the bright ray of light. He had come to her and swept her up into his arms and breathed the life back into her.  
  
Then she had slowly awoken, fading from her dream and into the reality that she was now in.  
  
Stephanie looked around the room and found that she was lying in a hospital bed. The beeping was coming from the heart monitor. She looked back at her father, wondering what the hell he was grinning at. She made a move to sit up but her father kept her down with a hand.  
  
"Don't try to sit up," he said in a concerned voice. "You've been in the same position for too long now, you're too sore. And you swallowed a lot of smoke."  
  
"What happened?" Stephanie asked in a confused voice.  
  
"Well, when the Big Show came out, his entrance pyros set off many others." They killed many people. Stephanie saw how downtrodden his face looked when he said this. "But the one that came at you hit the ring instead. The blast knocked you down and you hit your head on the canvas and have been knocked out for several hours. Thank gad for that man."  
  
"Who? What man?" Steph said, very intrigued because of the dream that she had had.  
  
"The man that saved you. He's a fan and he must be a really big fan because he certainly paid for it."  
  
"What do you mean? What happened to him?" Steph said with an extremely worried tone though she didn't know why.  
  
"Well, he suffered many bruises, a fractured skull, a large second degree burn on his back, two broken ribs, and a broken leg."  
  
"Jesus."  
  
There was complete silence throughout the room, until Steph thought of an idea.  
  
"Hey dad."  
  
"Yes baby."  
  
"Do you think that you could take me over to his room?"  
  
"Hon, you're too weak to go down the hall."  
  
"Please dad."  
  
Vince thought for a moment. He knew that if he didn't get her over there then she would find a way to get over there.  
  
"Ok, I'll take you over to his room, but only if you promise not to go anywhere else."  
  
"I promise dad."  
  
Vince left the room for a moment and came back a few seconds later with a wheelchair rolling at his side. He came over to Steph's bad and picked her and set her in the wheelchair. Vince then slowly rolled his daughter down the hallway of Fresno Community hospital.  
  
Soon they were in front of Stephanie's saviors door. Vince looked down at Stephanie with sad eyes.  
  
"Are you sure that you want to go in there? It isn't a pretty sight," Vince said.  
  
"I'm sure dad," Steph said in a firm voice.  
  
Vince rolled her in cautiously, not knowing what was going to happen. Steph got her first glimpse of her knight in shining armor and gasped.  
  
His face was badly bruised with cuts all over it, he had a bandage covering the top of his head, his leg was propped up in the air, there was tape all over his stomach and he was lying on his side facing the doorway.  
  
His eyes were still closed and he was asleep. Steph wondered for a moment why was there was no one here to see him if he lived here in California. But her wondering was cut short as she noticed something about him. He was shaking all over and he was muttering something under his breath.  
  
Stephanie leaned closer to him so she could hear what he was saying.  
  
"Don't." he said very softly. She didn't catch the last of what he said.  
  
"His name is Fred Ward his wallet said," Vince said trying to get his daughters attention. She heard him but only barely.  
  
Fred no started shaking are and twitching. He began to talk louder, saying nonsense words. Vince rolled Stephanie back a little. In case something happened. Stephanie could almost hear what he was saying. Fred started to convulse very badly and get louder and louder. Steph still couldn't tell what he was saying, until something happened.  
  
Fred's eyes bolted open and looked right into Stephanie's. Her eyes widened with shock at his sudden awakening. Then he yelled something that she was able to hear loud and clear.  
  
He screamed, "DON"T LOOK!!!"  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: It will become clear why he said that later on. Don't forget to check the updated first chapter or else some stuff down the road will completely confuse you. Please R&R. Please!  
  
So until next time my murder, same black wings, same damn card.  
  
SYWISY  
  
King of Spades 


	4. Chapter 4

_-^-_  
  
Fred gave a groan as he felt the soreness that had encompassed his body as he had slept. He really didn't wake up; he just suddenly realized that he was awake. He also realized that there were two people in front of him. He really couldn't tell who they were though he had an idea who they might be. The thought seemed to pour a bucket of fear right over his head and drench him in terror.  
  
He twitched in fright, "No it can't be." Fred choked out in an exasperated voice.  
  
The woman in front of him looked at him confused.  
  
"What?" she said very confused.  
  
Fred's eyes adjusted to the light that illuminated the room. He saw that these two people were not the people that he had thought that they were. Fred let out a relieved sigh that even further confused the two in front of him.  
  
"I'm sorry, I thought you were other people," Fred said apologetically.  
  
He saw the woman look at him intently.  
  
She probably thinks I'm crazy.  
  
"Your Fred right?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Fred's vision became better very quickly. Soon he was able to make out the two figures. His eyes widened as he realized who they were.  
  
She was really here. It was like a dream come true. He had never in a million years thought that he would ever meet her in person.  
  
"Stephanie?"  
  
Stephanie smiled gently, "Yes, I'm Stephanie."  
  
Fred couldn't believe that she was here. She was smiling at him.  
  
This must be a dream. Why would she be here in front of me? Me of all people.  
  
Then everything began flooding back to him. It was like someone had been holding the dam in his brain and keeping all of his memories out. Then they had suddenly let go. He remembered it all. The pyros, the ring, the gang of people, the ambulances.everything.  
  
And he figured out why she would be here with him. He had saved her life. That was the reason.  
  
Fred managed a small smile, "I've always dreamed of meeting you.  
  
Steph let out a small laugh that distressed Fred, "I dreamed of meeting you as well."  
  
Someone walked in and everyone turned to look except for Fred who just stared at Stephanie.  
  
"Sir," the man who just walked in said to Vince, "They need down with the superstars. They want you to say something."  
  
"Ok," Vince said turning to his daughter in the wheelchair, "Honey, I'm going to go downstairs. Now if you need anything just push the nurse button."  
  
"Ok daddy. I'll see you in a little while," Steph said.  
  
The pair left the room and Stephanie and Fred were left by themselves. They smiled at each other.  
  
"Why did you save me?" Stephanie said getting right to the point.  
  
Fred thought for a moment, wanting to give a good first impression. "I think that it was just instinct. It was like I had to. It was like it was my obligation."  
  
Steph sat there and digested what he just said. There was an awkward silence between the two. Then Stephanie came out with another question.  
  
"Is that why you got yourself hurt so terribly on my behalf?"  
  
"I think that it was that and the fact that I didn't want to see you hurt in any way, shape, or form."  
  
Steph thought for a moment. Then she thought that she might start learning about him.  
  
"Do you live here all by yourself?"  
  
"Yeah," Fred's face suddenly turned sullen at the mention of anyone else. Stephanie decided no to pursue that part of his life.  
  
"Where do you live?"  
  
"In Madera, just north of here."  
  
"What do you do for a living?"  
  
"I work at one of the local papers in Madera."  
  
"Are you an editor or."  
  
"I'm a writer, I write the stories that the paper publishes."  
  
"Have you ever tried being anything else?"  
  
Fred gave a small laugh, "Yeah, I tried being a wrestler for about two years. That didn't work out so."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"They never wanted me. They always said that I wasn't strong enough. I've been trying to remedy that fact."  
  
Stephanie looked at his arms and beneath the bruises, she saw that he had a very good arm and she had the suspicion that if he didn't have that tape on his stomach that he would have a wash-board stomach as well.  
  
"What about you?" Fred said to Stephanie.  
  
The two adults were talking all morning and were only interrupted when Vince came into the room. The sun was beginning to set. They knew that Vince had wanted to let them talk so he had left them alone, but they didn't say anything.  
  
"Ok you two," Vince said finally interrupting them even though they were deep in conversation, "I think it is time that this little princess to get to bed."  
  
Vince went over and kissed Stephanie on the head. Vince started to roll Steph out of the room.  
  
"You should get to bed as well Fred. I'm sure you could use some," Stephanie said smiling at him.  
  
"I'll make sure I do that," Fred said smiling at her.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow then, good night," she called back to him from the doorway.  
  
"Good night," Fred called back.  
  
Fred loved her smile. It seemed to brighten him up when he was at his lowest part. He set his head back into his pillow and thought. He thought of her and all that they had talked about. He thought of how she had laughed at his jokes and he thought about how she had smiled at him. It was like there was something else behind it.  
  
So Fred lay there beaten and weathered, very happy. Although he didn't know it. There was a feeling of love that was brewing in his heart. So he slowly drifted to sleep, thinking and smiling.  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: Damn, I'm going really quickly with these chapters. I just feel so compelled to write. Well here's another one.  
  
I do not own any of the WWE or its characters or personas.  
  
Thank you to those who have reviewed and those who are reading this without reviewing. Just, please review. (  
  
So until next time my murder, same black wings, same damn card.  
  
SYWISY  
  
King of Spades 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Just to let me clarify, the reviewer that reviewed under the name King of Spades was someone who reviewed while I was still logged in. So, that was not me who reviewed my own story. I am not that tacky. ;)  
  
_-^-_  
  
Stephanie awoke from her deep slumber with rays of light falling upon the wall. Stephanie wondered how long she had been sleeping and then she remembered why she had been sleeping so long. The talk with Fred had been tiring to her throat.  
  
She smiled at the thought of her savior, the man that had saved her life. They had become very good friends over the hours that they had spoken to one another. She dreaded having to leave him when she left and he had to stay. He was very gentle with her. He did not go into her relationships with her parents or her brother. Though they were no longer angry at each other it still hurt somewhat to think about it.  
  
Her father walked in the room with a cup of coffee in his hands. He cooled it with his breath and sat down.  
  
Stephanie put on her best pout on, "You didn't get any coffee for me? I need to wake up too."  
  
Vince smiled, unfazed by her pouting, "Honey, you know you can't have coffee. It will hurt your throat too much."  
  
"Damn."  
  
"So what do you want to do today? The doctor said that you should start walking around."  
  
"The only place I want to walk to is to Fred's room."  
  
Vince smiled at his daughter, "I think you will have to walk farther then that."  
  
"Well," Stephanie said thinking, "I could walk around his room and that would give me exercise."  
  
"I guess that would be ok. Though it doesn't really matter what I say does it? You're going to go over there no matter what I say."  
  
"Pretty much yeah."  
  
"Ok baby girl, after you wake up a little more then you can walk over there."  
  
"Ok daddy."  
  
After a few minutes of the two speaking about the superstars and the accident, Stephanie looked and saw that enough time had passed for her to go.  
  
"Dad, I'm ready to go," Steph said in a determined voice.  
  
"Ok, let's go," Vince said.  
  
Vince pulled Stephanie to her feet and she tested her legs for a moment. They were a little shaky at first put then they were fine. She made sure her hospital gown was tied up and then set off slowly for Fred's room.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred was shaking uncontrollably in his bed. The pictures that were shooting through his head were terrible. They were ghastly and something that no one should ever see. As the horror appeared in front of his eyes, he heard a crow cawing and he could strangely hear what it was saying.  
  
"Fred, you don't want to see this. So.DON'T LOOK!" the crow screamed at Fred, but he must. It was his curse to look.  
  
Then he heard something else. A soothing gentle voice. A voice he recognized.  
  
"Fred, it's ok. I'm here. It's ok," he heard the soothing female's voice say.  
  
He knew that things were not ok. Far from it in fact. But he did not want to argue with her because she seemed so kind. He looked back at the horror and felt like he was doomed to stay here in this dreadful house that lived in his dreams.  
  
Then he felt the voice pick up his spirit and set it back into his body. It was a great feeling. It was a feeling of immense peace. He soon found himself shaking in his real body and with gentle but firm hands pressed against his shoulders.  
  
He opened his eyes and didn't see a crow or a horror, but he saw the beautiful person in the world. Stephanie.  
  
Fred ceased his shaking and smiled up at Stephanie. She smiled back and Fred's heart gave a leap. It seemed to be the most beautiful and uplifting, her smile.  
  
"What's the matter?" She asked him, concerned with how he had just been shaking.  
  
"Nothing, just bad dreams," he said, not wanting to scare her.  
  
Fred looked and saw that Vince was here as well. He was also looking at him with a concerned face.  
  
"Really, I'm fine," Fred said trying to reassure the both of them.  
  
They both looked at each other and then shrugged.  
  
"Ok," Stephanie finally said, "So what do you want to do today?"  
  
"Well, in my state, I can't really do anything."  
  
Stephanie laughed and then Fred noticed something. She wasn't in her wheelchair anymore.  
  
"Hey look at you," Fred said, motioning to her legs that were draped over the side of the bed.  
  
"Yeah," said Steph, standing up and walking around a little, "The doctor said I need to give my legs an exercise."  
  
"Yeah, the doctor said some other things as well," Vince finally said, getting into the conversation. "She said that Fred will be in a cast for his legs for about six months and will need to keep his ribs taped up as well. His head too. Your burned will leave a scar but they will heal fairly quickly. Several weeks and it shouldn't all that bad."  
  
Fred closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. He would be spending a lot of time with good ol' mister couch.  
  
"She also said," Vince said giving his last bit of news, "that Stephanie isn't really that bad and will be going home tomorrow."  
  
Stephanie cursed out loud. Fred looked at her curiously.  
  
"What's the matter? Don't you want to go home?" Fred said.  
  
"No, not really," Stephanie said truthfully.  
  
"Well, you really should get back home," Vince said.  
  
"I know but."  
  
"No Steph," Fred said painfully, "You should get back to your home. You have to go back to your own life. I'll be fine here."  
  
"Are you sure? I mean I wouldn't want to leave you and you not be well after everything that you have done for me."  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"Ok."  
  
The rest of the day went along happily they talked and watched TV. They had had the accident on the news and they had watched that for a while. In what seemed like a short amount of time, the day was coming to a close and Lady Night was sweeping across the concrete jungle that they were living in.  
  
"We better get to bed princess," Vince said with a yawn.  
  
"I guess," Stephanie said sadly, thinking about the next day. They had decided that they would leave in the morning.  
  
Fred put a hand on her shoulder knowing what she was thinking about, "It's for the best Stephanie. I'll be fine here."  
  
Stephanie looked at Fred, her eyes glistening with tears that she didn't want o come and was fighting back, and thanked him for his comfort. She then sighed and stood up. She said good night and was gone through the door. Vince also said goodbye and followed Stephanie out the door.  
  
Fred was left alone with his thoughts. He really didn't want her to go. He knew that she would forget him and never see him again if she did leave, but she had her life to get back to and Fred didn't want to stand in the way of that.  
  
So Fred slipped slowly into slumber that he knew would be plagued with terrible dreams.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred awoke suddenly, thankfully torn away from the horror that lived in his memory and his dreams. He looked to the clock that was on the wall. It was 5:17. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep and even if he was able to, there would be that same damn dream.  
  
So Fred turned the television on but wasn't paying attention to it. He was thinking too much about Stephanie. The way that laughed and smiled. Her hair, her eyes, every part of her. She was just so beautiful inside and out.  
  
But it would never work. There was no way that she would want to be with a small newspaper journalist. And she had a life that he didn't want to interfere with. So he wouldn't.  
  
So Fred watched TV for a while. Soon he looked at the clock again and it said that the hour was 8. Fred turned off the TV, knowing that Steph and Vince would soon be in to say a final goodbye.  
  
No more than a few minutes later, they stepped through the door. Stephanie was wearing what she had been wearing the night of the accident. She looked beautiful, except for the terribly sad look that covered her face.  
  
Fred did not want to drag this on so he got right to the point, "So I guess this is goodbye."  
  
"Yeah," Stephanie said looking down.  
  
"It was nice meeting you," Fred said not knowing of anything else to say.  
  
"Well I'll come see you again," Steph said brightening up, "The next time that we are here for a show, I'll come visit you."  
  
"Yeah, I'll write it down for you."  
  
Fred picked up a piece of paper and a pen and wrote his address. He knew that it would never be used. She wouldn't come by. But he might as well play along with it.  
  
He handed the paper to Stephanie. She took it with a shaking hand and stuffed into her Dockers pants pocket.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you," she said finally.  
  
"It was nice meeting you too," said Vince before he left the room.  
  
Stephanie made to leave as well, but she came quickly back and leaned in on Fred. Stephanie kissed Fred on the cheek and then left the room. Fred had a look of shock etched onto his face. He hadn't been expecting that at all.  
  
That was the last he would get though so he might as well remember it. Fred laid his head back onto his pillow and thought about Stephanie. He knew, even though it was a painful realization, he knew that the only place that he would ever be seeing Stephanie again would be on television.  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: Well that wasn't long at all ::says in sarcastic tone::. Thanks for the reviews. They are all the highlight of my day. So please review.  
  
So, until next time my murder, same black wings, same damn card  
  
SYWISY  
  
King of Spades 


	6. Chapter 6

_-^-_  
  
6 Months Later  
  
Fred woke up slowly from a thankfully dreamless sleep. He hadn't been having any good dreams or bad dreams since he has been home. Of course that was because of the...No, best not to think about it all the time.  
  
Fred had gotten his bandages taken off the other day and he still felt awkward and sore from not having them on but he was coping. His friends had been supporting him all the way through and they had been a great help getting over Stephanie. Although there were only a few of them, they helped greatly.  
  
But now they were annoying him immensely by pounding on the door to get him awake. Fred rose from his bed and slipped out and was laid sprawled out on the floor. He stumbled to his feet and out the door of his bedroom.  
  
He arrived at the door and swung it open to see who would be this rude. It was Sean, his long time friend.  
  
He and Sean had known each other since High School and had become great friends. They had kept in touch ever since.  
  
"Hey man," Sean said happily.  
  
"What the hell did you wake me up for?" Fred said irritably wiping sleepy out of his eyes.  
  
"Uh, it's 10 Fred."  
  
Fred looked down at his watch. Sure enough it was 10, "Son of a bitch. I guess I slept better than I thought."  
  
"Are they helping the dreams?"  
  
"Yeah but let's not talk of it."  
  
"Kay."  
  
The walked to the kitchen and Fred began to fix himself a protein shake. He liked the things, they weren't made of much but they tasted good and they were extremely good for you. As Fred fixed himself a shake, he looked up and saw Sean's eyes on the cabinet.  
  
"I'm ok Sean," Fred said knowing what he was thinking about.  
  
"Are you sure? I mean you have to take all those things and you just got the bandages off and WWE is coming to Fresno the day after tomorrow, its Smackdown! too"  
  
Fred became silent for a moment. He had heard that Smackdown! was coming to Fresno, he had wanted to go, but he didn't have enough money that he could use to go. While he had been home with all of his bandages on, he hadn't been able to get many stories done.  
  
"I know," he said finally, "but you know that nothing is going to happen. She had totally forgotten about me. And I couldn't go anyway. So there really isn't any point in being sad about it now. And my bandages, they're just a little sore that's all. It's not bad. And neither are the...they help me with the dreams and that's all that matters."  
  
"If you say so," Sean said giving up.  
  
The two men ended up going to the newspaper, the Madera County Times. Fred's father had started it and then sold it. One of Fred's fathers' friends restarted it and asked him to come back.  
  
"Hey, how you doing Kim?" Fred said cheerfully to the secretary to the business.  
  
"Oh, I'm good how are?" she said the last bit with a serious tone to her voice.  
  
"I'm fine, really."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Fred walked to his desk in the corner of the building. They were renting a huge building that the original had been in the corner of. They were located in the center of Madera and they got lots of business. They were really doing good lately.  
  
Fred and Sean worked most of the rest of the day. They got most of the paper ready even though it was Tuesday and the paper went out on Saturday. They went back to Fred's home and ordered pizza.  
  
"Hey Fred," Sean said through a mouth of pizza.  
  
"Yeah," Fred said after swallowing his food.  
  
"Why do you think that Stephanie wouldn't remember you?"  
  
"Well, she's this big star and she has so many things going for her then she wouldn't have time to remember me."  
  
"I think that that's bullshit myself but, whatever."  
  
They went through the night watching TV and eating pizza. Fred didn't want to eat the stuff because it was so bad for a person but once in a while wasn't too bad.  
  
Sean finally left at midnight and left Fred alone. He stood in the living room and looked around. The place was so big. Sometimes he loved it because it allowed so much space to express himself. But sometimes he hated it because it reminded him of...No. Think of the present. Fred took his stuff for bed and then left to that very place.  
  
Fred found that it was hard to sleep. He was thinking of Stephanie too much. He had tried not to think of her because it hurt so much. It hurt not to be with her. He rolled over and slowly fell asleep thinking of her.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred woke up with the doorbell ringing. It was doing it continually. He had tried to ignore, to just wait for the person to leave. But they were damn persistent.  
  
Fred stumbled out of bed and through his bedroom door. He walked across the tile floored foyer and to the door. He swung the door open and his eyes immediately went open in shock. He was definitely awake now.  
  
"Oh my god," Fred breathed out.  
  
"Hi, long time no see," the person at the door said.  
  
Fred was still in shock. His heart was pounding in his throat and that seemed to have become a desert in a matter of seconds.  
  
He was able to choke out one word from the desert of a throat however.  
  
"Stephanie."  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: BUM, BUM, BUUUUM. And the plot thickens. Thanks for all the reviews that you guys have sent me. They mean a lot to me and they brighten up my day. So keep them coming.  
  
So, until next time my murder, same black wings, same damn card.  
  
SYWISY  
  
King of Spades 


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I just wanted to start out by saying thank you so much for all of your reviews. As I have said before, they are the highlight of my day and they fill me with a joy felt by few. So for that I thank you...and keep them coming! :)  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred couldn't feel anything. His entire body had gone numb. All of the good dreams that he had had in the last 6 months were now coming true. She was really here. She was actually standing on his front porch.  
  
"Well, are you going to let me in?" Stephanie said, waking Fred out of his thoughts.  
  
"Y-Y-Yeah," Fred stammered out.  
  
Stephanie stepped in and was astounded. She had thought that from what she had seen from the outside, it wouldn't be that great, but it looked great. She turned to her right and saw a huge formal dining room. There was a dining set complete with four chairs and a large table at one end and nearer to the door, there were two soft chairs and the kind of couch that psychiatrist would have in their office.  
  
"Wow."  
  
Fred was silent. He was too astounded by the fact that she was really here that he still had his jaw hanging somewhere near his knees. Stephanie turned around at him and laughed slightly.  
  
"Well, are you going to stand there while your mouth catches dust or are you going to show me around?"  
  
Fred finally came to his senses. He reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from going into the living room.  
  
"Let me tidy things up first," Fred said with a smile.  
  
"Ok."  
  
Fred jogged into the living room and then to the kitchen and picked up his supplies. He didn't know it but Stephanie was looking over his shoulder from the foyer.  
  
What she saw him attempting to hide shocked her. She would have to see into that later. She decided to leave the subject alone until that time came.  
  
"Your house is very nice," she said truthfully.  
  
"It isn't much," Fred said looking around and then figured it was enough of the small talk. He had always liked getting right to the point. "So what are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, there is a show in Fresno tomorrow and I figured that since I was here I might as well come see you," Stephanie said.  
  
"I never thought that you would remember me."  
  
Stephanie seemed taken aback, "Me not remember you? That isn't possible. For one, you saved my life, two you were really hurt when I last left, and three you are one of the nicest and funniest people I know."  
  
"Really."  
  
"Of course silly."  
  
"Well, thanks. I think I needed that pep talk."  
  
"Glad I could help. So, are you going to give me the grand tour?"  
  
"Well, of course Madame," Fred said taking Stephanie arm in arm, feeling very comfortable with her, "Welcome to the Wards Wander Inn where all of you dreams, fantasies, and desires come true!"  
  
"Fred!"  
  
"What? I didn't mean it like...You sick person."  
  
The rest of the morning was spent Fred showing Steph around the house and the two of them goofing off. After a while, they heard a pounding at the door.  
  
"Who's that?" Steph asked.  
  
"Probably Sean," Fred said jogging to the door from the hallway y leading to the bedrooms. He swung the door open and Sean was standing there in his usual cut-off sleeve white shirt and jeans with grease and oil stands on both fro working on his car. He had his usual Ford racing camouflage hat that covered the top of his head that was absent of hair. He did have hair on his face however, making a beard and mustache.  
  
"You ready to go Fred? It's already 12 and you haven't come to work were you planning to..." Sean stopped talking as someone came walking up from behind Fred. His eyes went wide and his jaw fell open.  
  
"Hi," Stephanie said meekly, she had never had two people who, when they saw her, went into a state of shock.  
  
"Hi," Sean was able to choke out and then looked to Fred, "What?"  
  
"Stephanie, this is Sean, my best friend. Sean, this is Stephanie," Fred said trying to be normal.  
  
Stephanie stuck her hand out for Sean to shake. He shook, but very weakly as he was still completely surprised.  
  
"Why are you here?" Sean said finally and bluntly.  
  
"Well, WWE is here for a show and I figured that I would come down to see Fred."  
  
"Ok," Sean said shaking himself out of his thoughts. "So Fred are you ready? It's time to go to work now."  
  
"I suppose, would you like to come along Stephanie?"  
  
"It's Steph and of course I would."  
  
So the three of them piled into Fred's Suburban and drove to the downtown paper.  
  
"Hey Kim," Fred said as they passed her going down the middle hallway.  
  
"Hey guys, how are..." Kim saw the woman who accompanied the two men down the hall and her jaw dropped. Stephanie saw this and was amazed. She couldn't believe that she had now sent three people into shock in one day.  
  
"I'm right over here Steph," Fred said motioning to an office in the corner.  
  
They stepped inside and it looked normal. There was a computer, a phone, a desk, a chair, and other things that Fred thought would create a few homey touches.  
  
"So what do you do Sean? I know that Fred is a journalist, but what is it you do?" Steph said curiously.  
  
"Well," Sean said, "I deliver the papers, I pick up the papers from a printer in Merced, and I help put the paper itself together. Of course Fred does the same thing except he writes stories too."  
  
"Cool."  
  
The rest of the day went by fast, Sean and Fred worked while Stephanie would watch them do their work and listen to Fred explain to her what they were doing. She didn't really pay all that much attention because she was so infatuated with all of him that she would just listen to the sound of his voice and look at the flex of him strong muscles and his handsome face. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him.  
  
He was very intelligent as well she came to find out. He would pull wise cracks at just the right moment that would end you up rolling on the floor laughing. And he seemed to have all the answers to every question that anyone asked. It was amazing.  
  
"Stephanie," Fred said waking Steph out of her thoughts about him, "Stephanie?"  
  
"What?" she said with a start.  
  
"Did you hear me? I said that we're ready to leave."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess that I just spaced out."  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Definitely."  
  
The two had left Sean at the newspaper because he had a little work left. They arrived at the house and had some left-overs for dinner. They sat on some bar stools and Fred jumped right into conversation.  
  
"So," Fred began timidly, "Where are you going to sleep tonight? One of the hotels next to Selland or where."  
  
"I don't know, I hadn't really thought that far ahead," Stephanie said thinking. "I was to busy having fun with you."  
  
"Well, if you like, you could sleep here for the night."  
  
"No I wouldn't want to impose."  
  
"You wouldn't be imposing. It would actually be kind of nice to have someone else in the house aside from Sean."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Well then, ok."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really, really."  
  
"Cool, here," Fred aid getting up from his stool and walking to the foyer. "I'll clear a bed for you."  
  
Fred stepped into a bedroom and was soon followed by Stephanie. Fred took some sheets from the closet and covered the bare bed. It soon became just like a normal bed.  
  
"Thank you so much Fred."  
  
"My pleasure. I think I'm going to turn in for the night."  
  
"Kay, good night."  
  
"Good night beautiful."  
  
Steph felt a grin creep onto her face. He thought she was beautiful. She heard his door close and figured that this was as good a time as any. She might as well see what the stuff that he had been trying to hide was.  
  
Stephanie snuck out her door, through the foyer, through the living room and into the kitchen. She checked cabinet after cabinet and didn't see anything. She came down to her last cabinet. It was the one that was over the built-in microwave. She opened it with a trembling hand and saw what was inside.  
  
She gasped and stepped back. Two of the seven bottles fell clattering to the ground. Now it was her turn to go into shock. She breathed her next words so quietly that no one else would have been able to hear it even if they had been in the room.  
  
"Medication."  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: He, he, he. You know I love those cliffhangers ::grins evilly:: Oh, here's some more of the same old shit.  
  
No one and nothing that you recognize in this story belong to me. They obviously own to someone else and not me.  
  
Hope you come back for the next chapter.  
  
So, until next time my murder(and we are actually a murder now), same black wings, same damn card.  
  
SYWISY  
  
_-^-_ KoS _-^-_ 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I just haven't been feeling anything. Anyway, hope you like the chap.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Stephanie's dreams that night were plagued by nightmares of horrible incidents that could happen to a person. After she had recovered from the discovery of the seven pill bottles, she read the labels and searched their names on the Internet.  
  
They all were for keeping mental stability during sleep. They were used to stop the same dream from entering the victim's head, and any other dream that happened to try and stroll in.  
  
Steph had laid there in her current bed and just stared at the wall. Terrible images continued to flow through her already shocked brain. Images that would traumatize someone to the point where every sleeping moment would be spent seeing it.  
  
Eventually, Stephanie was able to slip into a fitful sleep. A sleep that was interrupted during the course of the night. Once she was woken with a dream of blood and gore. A dream where she thought that she had seen body parts. The thought of seeing someone dismembered caused her brain to reject the image and quickly pull her from the horror.  
  
She turned over to the clock that had set in her room. It announced that it was 5:30. She figured that that was as good enough time as any to get some coffee and try to think more clearly.  
  
She made her way to the kitchen, garbed in silken pajamas that were maroon. She fixed a pot of coffee and ran her newly acquired information through her tired brain one more time.  
  
'So,' she thought to herself, 'I have a man who saved my life by almost sacrificing his, who is apparently troubled terribly and taking lots of medication to keep it under control. I'm very fond of him because he is very attractive and kind. But then again, he has all of these problems.No, she couldn't shun him because he had problems much larger than her own. He saved my life and in return, I will try and get him back to a life of normalcy. But first I must speak with him about this because I need to get the whole story.'  
  
After Stephanie's inner conversation with herself, she decided that she would try and speak to him about it tonight, so he would have the night to tell her and he might get a weight lifted from his heavy shoulders.  
  
The rest of her solitary morning was spent watching TV, which Fred had said she could use at her disposal. Finally, at about 8:00, Fred stumbled into the living room.  
  
'He looks a mess,' Steph thought to herself.  
  
That he was. He eyes were bleary; his hair was sticking up in all sorts of different directions. His clothes were all rumpled and disheveled, but there was something else about the shirt he was wearing. It was soaked in sweat and the formerly gray t-shirt was now black. He obviously did not have a good night sleep.  
  
"Hi, Fred," Stephanie said worried at his state, and though she tried to hold it back, it showed on her face.  
  
"Hi, Steph," Fred said, his eyes adjusted to the light and he saw the worried look on her face and added, "I'm ok Stephanie."  
  
"If you say so," Steph said knowing that it wasn't true. "So, what's on tap for today?"  
  
"Well," Fred began flipping his hand and wrist up so he could see it, "it is currently 8:12 and I have to get to work by 9:00 so.hmmm."  
  
Fred thought for a moment and then finally figured it out, "I know, I can ask if I can take the day off and then me and you can go off and eat lunch and look around, how does that sound? I mean this is the last day we have to spend in each other's company, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess it is." Steph said thinking, she forgot all about the show tomorrow in the wake of finding Fred's medication, "But that sounds like a great idea Fred."  
  
"Ok, then I'll call in, Steve my boss will surely give me the day off."  
  
As Fred took a white phone off of its charger and dialed his boss's number, Stephanie thought. She thought about what she was going to do about tomorrow. She didn't want to leave Fred after she told him that she knew all about his medication. She was thinking so hard that she didn't even notice that Fred had gotten off.  
  
"My boss said it was ok."  
  
"Huh, What?"  
  
"I said, my boss said it was ok."  
  
"Cool, so where can I take a shower?"  
  
"There is one on the far wall right between your room and my room."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Stephanie walked down the hall and to the bathroom, leaving Fred to his thoughts. He had definitely had a bad night. His dreams had come on so strong that they had disregarded the pills and gone straight for his brain. He had woken up countless times throughout the night and he hadn't gotten all that much sleep.  
  
But when he finally decided that he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore he had gone out and been greeted with having the most beautiful woman sitting in his living room. Seeing her had driven all of the memories back for a little while but they were slowly creeping back into his mind.  
  
By 8:45, the two were ready. The day was spent seeing the few and far between sights of Madera, California. They went to the movies and ate lunch and then, when they couldn't find anything else to do, they rented some videos and went home.  
  
After they had seen the two movies that they had rented, it was 7:00 and they were tired. But Stephanie had something that awakened her from her dozing on Fred's leather couch. She had something that she needed to talk to her knight in shining armor about. And now was as good a time as any.  
  
"Hey Fred?" Stephanie began nervously.  
  
"Yeah beautiful?" Fred said turning so he could see her.  
  
"I have something that I need to talk to you about."  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: Hehehe I love cliffhangers. Anyways, again I am so sorry that I haven't been updating, and I will try to get the next chap out way sooner. Thank you for the reviews and keep them coming.  
  
So until next time my murder, same black wings, same damn card.  
  
SYWISY  
  
KoS 


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter is extremely gruesome. If you would like to skip this chapter and wait for the next one, you are free to do so. I will recap in the next chapter what is told here.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"I have something that I need to talk to you about," said Stephanie nervously.  
  
"Is it about your show tomorrow?" Fred asked. Steph noticed a hint of fear in his eyes.  
  
"No, nothing like that. I need to talk you about..you."  
  
"Ok, what would you like to know?"  
  
Stephanie paused for a second bracing herself for his reaction, "I need you to tell me why you have to take all that medication Fred."  
  
For a moment, Fred didn't even react. His face the same it had looked before she had asked him about his pills, a small smile. Then his face turned to a face of shame and embarrassment. He slowly turned his head to the floor and stared at it, he felt he couldn't look her in the face. Not now, not after she had found his secret.  
  
"H-H-How do you know about them?" Fred stammered still staring at the rug beneath his feet.  
  
"I found them last night. I found out what they were for as well, from the Internet. Fred, what could be so bad that you have to take pills for it"  
  
Fred felt the familiar tears well up and sting his eyes, blurring his vision. He couldn't tell her. It was too hard to talk about. Though, maybe it would help him to get it off his chest and into the open. And maybe Stephanie deserved to know. Now that they were friends, they shouldn't keep secrets from each other, especially secrets about their families.  
  
"You really want to know?" Fred said, finally looking up at Stephanie. Silent tears were streaming down his face though he didn't notice.  
  
Stephanie looked at Fred. He no longer looked like the strong willed man that she had come to know and in a form love. He looked like a frail child without his mother. She didn't want to cause him this much pain, but she knew she could help him in some way if she knew what was wrong.  
  
"Yes," Stephanie said slowly, "Yes I do."  
  
"Ok, It happened when I turned 18.."  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred awoke groggily. He felt a bright light tearing at his eyelids. He opened them slowly and stared at the light. It was emanating from the window. Then he realized that he had forgotten to close the window shades last night. He had been far to excited.  
  
For today was his eighteenth birthday. He wasn't expecting anything special but just the fact that today he was going to be 18 made him excited. He slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. Fred thought about all of the things that had happened to him in the last 18 years. It had been a road full of detours and obstacles but he had finally gotten here. He had survived the world until age 18.  
  
A feeling of pride rose within Fred at the thought. He had survived. Of course he had been helped out immensely by his family along the road. His sister, Rachel, had always been his best friend and moral supporter. She managed to get him out of his low points and make him smile. His father, Fred Sr., always made him laugh and gave him the best advice. His mother, Vona, had been the best of friends to him. Fred had inherited all of his likes and dislikes from her. They both loved wrestling, football, and sci- fi TV shows.  
  
She had been the strongest person he would ever know. But obviously not strong enough. For although she was strong mentally, emotionally, and spiritually she had not been strong physically. Cancer had taken all that strength and sapped from her body and tore her away from all that she loved. Tore her away from Fred.  
  
When his mother died, Fred had almost died along with her. She had always been his rock, the person who he could depend on when he was in a tight spot. Then the rock had been removed and he had to try to pull himself out of his hole. She had been the one person that would always be there for him and then she just..wasn't.  
  
Fred had been destroyed yes, but he had survived. He had survived to this age of 18 although he knew that part of him was gone. That part, that innocence had left him that winter afternoon when his family was crowded around their leather chair and cried together at the loss of their beloved wife, daughter, and mother who sat in that very chair.  
  
A single tear wove its way from Fred's eye and fell to the rug and absorbed. Fred shook his head viciously, shaking the thoughts from his skull. Today was not a day of grieving, today was a day of celebration. The celebration of his birth 18 years before.  
  
Fred stood and walked out the door of his bedroom. He stepped into the kitchen greeted with the smell of pancake syrup. He took a great whiff of the wonderful smell and let it out with a great sigh.  
  
"You like that smell?" his father said from the kitchen stove, a smile proudly displayed across his face. "I made you a special breakfast for a special day and a special boy..no, I mean man. Happy Birthday son."  
  
With that, he set a big stack of pancakes on the bar where Fred sat. He gave him a big hug and squeezed him tightly. After about five minutes of hugging, Fred's father finally let go and passed him the syrup.  
  
Rachel eventually came in after Fred was half way through his stack of pancakes. She gave Fred a big hug.  
  
"Happy Birthday Bro. I really hope you are happy today," She said in his ear as she continued to hug him.  
  
Eventually she too let go and sat to her own stack of pancakes. Fred finally finished his pancakes with a slurp of milk. After everything was finished and put away, Fred, his father, and his sister sat down in front of the television.  
  
The current TV buzz was the series of murders that were sweeping through the central valley of California. They were in various places and it was scary because it hit very close to home. The murderer killed his victims by dismembering them. The crime scene was always a blood bath when the police came. The killer came to be known as the Blood Bath Bird.  
  
"This is disgusting," Fred's father commented at the current press conference being held on TV, "What would drive a man to be this disgusting and gruesome?"  
  
"Lots of things, most likely insanity," Fred replied.  
  
"Whatever," Rachel says, turning the TV off, "Today will not be filled with blood and gore. Today is your birthday and we want positive thoughts not negative ones."  
  
Fred just nodded his head and smiled up at his sister. She was 4 years older than him and always trying to be positive. He loved that in a person.  
  
"Yeah your right."  
  
"Now, I want you to go and take a shower. Sean will be coming along shortly. Remember he wanted you to pick out your present with him?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm going."  
  
Fred rose from his chair and walked lightly to the shower. He knew that today was going to be a day full of surprises.  
  
_-^-_  
  
By the time Fred had gotten finished with his shower and dressed, Sean had been waiting for 15 minutes.  
  
"Took you long enough. What did you fall in?" Sean said as Fred entered the living room.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Fred said, jokingly.  
  
Fred's father and sister approached from the kitchen and each hugged him in turn. Fred felt something in those hugs. It wasn't the usual love that he always felt when they hugged him either. It was like they were clutching him to stop him from moving. Like they were trying to keep them there with them.  
  
"I love you son," Fred Sr. said as they hugged desperately, "You've grown up so fast. I just wish your mother was here to see you. She would have been so proud of you."  
  
He let go and Rachel embraced him quickly, and with the same desperation. "You've always been my best friend along with my brother. I love you with all of my heart," Rachel said before letting him go.  
  
"I love you too, both of you," Fred said not being able to think of anything else to say.  
  
"Well you two had better get going, your wasting daylight," Said Fred's father, quoting John Wayne.  
  
"Yeah," Sean said going to the door with Fred following.  
  
"I love you, see you in a little while," Fred said, turning back, looking, and waving at the two of them.  
  
"I love you too, bye," said Rachel  
  
"Bye, I love you too," Said Fred Sr.  
  
Then Fred slipped out the door. Following Sean to his truck.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Sean and Fred turned onto the main road that turned off to their street.  
  
"Again, thank you so much for the video game," Fred said with a smile as he looked at the plastic covered case.  
  
"Your welcome, again. Hey even the elderly have to have fun, huh?" Sean replied, glancing at his friend.  
  
"Shut up wise ass."  
  
They finally turned to their street and were blinded by lights. The lights came in three distinct colors. There was the white light that came from camera lights. And then there was lights that sent shivers of fright down the spine of both Sean and Fred, the red and blue of police lights.  
  
The two kept driving and had to stop because of two roadblocks in their path. They both got out of the truck and approached the nearest police officer.  
  
"Officer, what's going on?" inquired Fred.  
  
"Oh," The officer said turning to face them, "There was a murder down the street and we're trying to keep the press out. You know, they say that it was the Blood Bath Bird who did it."  
  
Fred felt an icy cold shiver run down his entire body as if he had been touched by death. He started to breath heavy and shake.  
  
"W-W-Which house was it?" Fred stammered out.  
  
"Oh, it was that one down the street."  
  
The officer pointed down the street, and Fred literally felt his heart jump into his throat. The house the officer had pointed to was Fred's home.  
  
Fred started to run without even a second thought. He heard the officer shout something at him, but he couldn't hear anything except for his heart pumping blood into his veins from his throat. He ran with a power he didn't know he possessed. Before he knew it, he had pushed his way to his front lawn and almost to the door.  
  
But before he knew what was happening, someone got in front of him and Fred barreled into him. This left Fred sprawled on the ground and trying to quickly get up until he was pushed down by the other man.  
  
"Hey boy, what are you doing?" said the obvious police officer that held him down.  
  
"I live in this house. I have to see what happened," Fred managed to get out while struggling  
  
"Trust me you don't want to see it."  
  
Fred stopped struggling and found a new plan. He quickly gave a hard kick to the groin to the man on top of him. This sent the officer off of him with a groan. Fred got to his feet and ran straight to the open doorway of his home.  
  
What he saw upon entering the living room would scar him for most of, if not, his entire life. All that was in the realm of his vision was blood and parts. Body parts. They were lying everywhere and Fred felt himself not able to look away.  
  
He saw arms, legs, torsos, and entrails. He quickly through up on the rug, finally able to look away. When he looked up, the fireplace came into his line of sight. The picture that he saw now would forever haunt him until the day that he died.  
  
Among the body parts and insides, there were no heads. The heads had been saved for a much more disgusting purpose. They were all stacked into a pyramid on the fireplace stage. And they were all faces that he knew.  
  
They were friends of his. Ones he had known since he had come to Madera. People he had known since the third grade. All his friends were scattered about his living room. Mutilated.  
  
The top of the pyramid was what really capped the nightmare that Fred now lived within. The two heads that were the top of the pyramid, was his sister Rachel's and his father Fred Sr.'s.  
  
Fred's head spinned and everything grew dim. He fell to the ground backwards and lay there on his back. The last thing Fred saw before he passed out was a floating balloon that had words printed on it. It said  
  
Happy 18th Birthday. 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: This is a very short chapter but I hope you like it anyway. Has some sexuality just to forewarn you. Enjoy!  
  
_-^-_  
  
Stephanie was in shock. She just sat there with a look of terror etched across her facial features. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Fred had seen his friends and families bodies after they had been mutilated. Their heads had been piled into a pyramid where he could see his father and sisters clearly. The actual event was even more horrible than any of her nightmares could ever be. To have suffered such a tragic and horrifying experience and still be sane showed a true mental capacity to withstand events.  
  
Stephanie continued to sit there, still to shocked to react, while Fred was silently weeping. He had been since the beginning of his story and he was even harder now. Fred didn't even know he had so many left in him, but they came. Silently falling to the carpet from his hung head.  
  
Suddenly, Stephanie woke from her trance and saw Fred crying. She had no idea what to do for him, so she let her instincts take over. She slowly laid her hand on the side of Fred's face and gently pulled him into a hug. Fred did not resist. He let her pull him in and let him cry. He sat there next to her, Stephanie's arms around his head and rocking him back and forth as he sobbed into her shoulder.  
  
Fred felt like such a child, sitting there weeping into his friends shoulder. He felt like he was 7 years old again. But he couldn't stop. The tears just kept coming and he could not stop them.  
  
"I'm so sorry," Stephanie said in a whisper. Her voice wavered as she too felt tears clouding her vision. She used all her will to keep them at bay and blinked them away. She had to be strong for Fred. She couldn't start crying as well.  
  
After ten minutes of Fred crying, he was able to compose himself and lifted himself from Stephanie's grasp. His eyes were red and his cheeks were glistening with still wet tears.  
  
"I'm so sorry," Fred whispered, still fighting back tears, "I got you all wet. I didn't mean to."  
  
Stephanie laid her hand on his left cheek and gently wiped away his tears.  
  
"I don't care about the shirt Fred. What I do care about is you. I know it doesn't help much, but I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that you have had to endure so much throughout your life," Stephanie said feeling tears stinging her eyes again.  
  
Fred didn't know why he did it, but suddenly, Fred gently gripped her hand with his and leaned in on her. Stephanie didn't see it coming and didn't know it was happening until she felt Fred's lips upon hers. At first she was wide eyed and surprised, but then she relaxed and kissed back. They kissed softly for a few seconds until they pulled away at the same time.  
  
They held back and looked at each other for a few seconds until they couldn't take it any longer. They went for one another quickly and kissed passionately. Stephanie wrapped her arms around Fred's neck and pulled him in for a deeper kiss.  
  
Fred pulled out of the passions and asked, "Are you sure about this?"  
  
Stephanie stared at him with seriousness in her eyes and replied, "More sure than anything I've ever done in my life."  
  
Fred smiled and swept her into his arms. He carried her the short distance to his room and laid her down on his bed. They kissed fiercely for a few minutes and they both knew that this was where they belonged.  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: Told you it was short. I just thought that this was a good place to end the chapter. Now I regret to inform you that  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE or any of their characters, they are owned by Vince McMahon. Nor do I own any of the actual people. They are owned by themselves.  
  
Danke for the reviews. I love them. So until next time my murder, same black wings, same damn card. Goodnight everyone!  
  
SYWISY  
  
KoS 


	11. Chapter 11

_-^-_  
  
Light slowly crept into the room. The sun touched the face of two figures, one awake the other in slumber. The awakened just lay there staring at the other in his arms. Fred couldn't believe how is life was turning out.  
  
Fred Ward lay in his bed with Stephanie McMahon in his arms. Her head was on his chest and her arm was draped across him. His hand was gliding across her bare back, feeling her perfect skin. Fred finally felt that after a long time of searching, he had found his someone. The one he was meant to spend the rest of his life with.  
  
But then he remembered something that faded the smile on his lips into a frown. What about today and the Smackdown show? She couldn't miss it because she was the General Manager. He knew that with her good nature, she would ask him to go with her. He really did want to go, but he didn't want to upset things with Stephanie and her job.  
  
Fred felt Stephanie stir against him and he looked down at her with a smile. Her eyes fluttered and she stared into Fred's eyes.  
  
She smiled softly, "Hey you."  
  
"Hey there beautiful," Fred said kissing the top of her head.  
  
"How did you sleep?"  
  
Fred realized something at that sentence. Throughout the night, he hadn't had one dream of blood, gore, or anything else. He had had a dreamless sleep and without his medication.  
  
"Fine," Fred said surprised. It was the first time since the tragedy that he had slept dreamless with out his pills, "and you?"  
  
"Perfect, you make for a good pillow."  
  
"I try..so Stephanie, what are we supposed to do about today?"  
  
Stephanie thought for a moment and concluded; "I think that you should come with me to the show, seeing as how we are a couple now..right?"  
  
"Well, yeah we are, but I didn't want to get in your way or anything."  
  
"Of course you won't get in my way. It will be nice to have someone around with me."  
  
"You really want me to go with you?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Well ok then, I'll go with you to Smackdown."  
  
"Good, now what are we going to do about breakfast?"  
  
"Well, let me see..when does the show start?"  
  
"The show starts at 8:00 tonight."  
  
"Oh, well ok then. It looks like someone by the name of Stephanie McMahon is going to get breakfast in bed."  
  
"Oh you don't have to do that, I can help."  
  
"Nope, you are going to have to work tonight so you are going to get the fine dining that can only be delivered by Fred Ward."  
  
"Well, how can argue with that," Stephanie said with a smile as she cuddled in closer to Fred.  
  
Fred gently tilted her head to face his and softly kissed her. He then wriggled out of her grasp and slipped on a pair of boxers. He left for the kitchen, leaving Stephanie by her lonesome.  
  
She was wondering the reaction from the superstars at Fred and their relationship. She had never been one to go out with people. She was always busy with the business or just not interested. Now she would be coming with a boyfriend from out of nowhere. There was bound to be a reaction.  
  
And what about her father? He had liked Fred, but was worried that Stephanie would fall for him and get in over her head with his problems. That didn't seem to be a problem with her and Fred but her father was most definitely not going to believe that, with how stubborn he was.  
  
There were so many things to be taken into consideration about her situation with Fred, that Stephanie decided to leave them alone until the time came. She would revel in the time that she was able to spend with him and that was it. That was the only decision she needed. She had lots of fun being with Fred. She felt like she had known him for her entire life.  
  
Stephanie was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice all of the noises coming from the kitchen. Fred was quickly finished with Stephanie's breakfast, trying to get back to spend more time with her. He set the assortment of foods onto a lap length table and carried them back into his room.  
  
Stephanie seemed to have spaced out lying on his bed so Fred cleared his throat to gain her attention. She looked up; surprised that Fred was finished so fast. She stood in awe at the different foods located on the table. There was a small stack of pancakes, a helping of eggs and sausage, two hashbrowns, a piece of toast, a glass or orange juice, and a cup of coffee.  
  
"Wow," Stephanie said in awe, "How did you cook all this that fast?"  
  
"Easily, it's really not all that hard," Fred said nonchalantly.  
  
Stephanie sat up and pulled one of Fred's shirts from the floor on. She allowed Fred to set the table across her lap and smiled brightly up at him.  
  
"You didn't have to do this you know, I mean I could've helped."  
  
"I told you that I wanted you to take it easy today and relax. Let me worry about things, I'm very good at it."  
  
Stephanie shook her head in amazement. He was just full of surprises. She dug into her large breakfast and noticed how hungry she was.  
  
"Damn, I'm hungry. Last night was tiring."  
  
"I wonder why," Fred said, giving her and evil grin.  
  
Stephanie laughed, "That was probably a factor."  
  
The rest of her breakfast was small talk and uneventful. Finally, Stephanie ate all that she could and set it on the floor next to her. They both lay back down together and sighed. They felt so right, here in Fred's bed, intertwined in each other's arms. They felt a sense of belonging it was a great feeling.  
  
"What do you think your father is going to say about..us?" said Fred after a time.  
  
Stephanie thought for a moment and then answered, "I don't know. I hope he'll approve but I just don't know."  
  
"What if he doesn't approve?"  
  
"Well then, he'll just have to deal with it because I don't plan on letting go of you any time soon."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Of course silly."  
  
Fred felt better because he had been worried that she would ditch him if her father didn't like him. He guessed that he didn't give Stephanie enough credit for loyalty.  
  
"Well, I need to take a shower," Stephanie said getting out of Fred's arms.  
  
"Would you like any company?" Fred said with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"How can I resist?"  
  
Fred got up and grabbed Stephanie's hand as she went to go to the shower. He pulled her to him and kissed her full on the lips. They pulled apart and left to the shower with Stephanie leading Fred. He had to admit that he was a little apprehensive of tonight. He didn't want to up set any of the superstars or least of all Stephanie's father and family.  
  
Fred supposed that he would have to wait to see what would come of it all, just hoping that it would be good.  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: I just wanted to thank those of you who have reviewed. And also, I would like to say that if there are any of you who are reading this without reviewing, I would like to thank you as well but implore you to review for they are much appreciated.  
  
So my murder, same black wings, same damn card. Goodnight everyone!  
  
KoS 


	12. Chapter 12

_-^-_  
  
He paced the room. He didn't know what was going to happen tonight but he didn't think it would be good. The way she had sounded wasn't good at all. She seemed nervous like she was scared of how he would feel. Hell, he was scared about how he was going to feel.  
  
Vince McMahon wouldn't admit it, but he was scared that he knew what Stephanie's big surprise was going to be. He was scared that she would have fallen head over heels for that Fred Ward. It wasn't that Vince didn't like Fred; it's just that he was scared that Fred would bring Stephanie down with the weight of his problems. And from the looks of him, he seemed to be carrying a ton of bricks.  
  
Vince stopped pacing for a moment and looked up to the clock. It was 5:45. Stephanie had said that they would get there at around 6:00. The time was close at hand and with it, Stephanie's big surprise.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred sat in Stephanie's limousine as they drove to the Fresno arena. He was very nervous about the encounter that was guaranteed to ensue when they arrived. Vince was confirmed to be there at the arena because Stephanie had called him.  
  
"It'll be ok," Stephanie said reassuringly, stilling his once twitching leg.  
  
She laid her head on Fred's chest and cuddled close. He calmed under her presence. She seemed to have that effect whenever he was close to her. He stilled himself and hugged her to him. He loved having her in his arms. It felt like this was where they were supposed to be.  
  
Although Fred fought them valiantly, his thoughts returned and in full force. He wondered what Stephanie's families reaction would be when their little baby girl brought home a strange and troubled man home with her. Fred being a noted pessimist at times, thought the worst. Would they yell at Fred about him not being good enough for Stephanie? Would they disown Stephanie for bringing him? He hoped not. That was the one thing that he wouldn't be able to bear, tearing Stephanie's family apart.  
  
Fred was suddenly pulled away from his doomful thoughts when the limousine came to a stop. He looked out the window and saw the arena looming in front of them. Fred got out and offered his hand to Steph. She took it graciously and lifted herself out of the limo. Stephanie made a move to go to the arena but was pulled back into a passionate kiss by Fred. She did not resist, instead she kissed him with the same amount of passion. After a minute they pulled away.  
  
"What was that for?" Stephanie asked and she let Fred hug her tight.  
  
"Just in case it's the last one," Fred said through the hug.  
  
Stephanie pulled out and put his hand in hers.  
  
"It won't be. I promise you," Stephanie said in a serious tone.  
  
Fred smiled weakly and led her to the arena. They walked in hand in hand, ready to face what was to come together.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Paul walked around the arena searching. He had to find her. He had looked in all of the obvious places but she didn't seem to be here yet. He had to find her. It was vital because he was going to tell her tonight. He was going to tell Stephanie McMahon how much he loved her and wanted to be with her. Even though it was a big pile of bullshit.  
  
Paul went back to his locker room leaving his door wide open in case he could see her. Maybe he had to go over the plan one more time. He was going to pull Stephanie into a deserted corridor and confess to her all of his feelings. About the fact that he loved her and how he would never love anyone as much as her. Blah blah blah. Just a bunch of bullshit to get her to go out with him.  
  
Because if she went out with him, if the boss's daughter was going out with Paul, that meant he could reap the benefits. Small things like new furniture and higher pay to start, but then he would move on to the big things and his ultimate prize. The World Heavyweight Championship. The thing he wanted more than anything. And he would destroy anyone he had to get it. He would even go out with Stephanie McMahon and endure that hell for it.  
  
He knew that she would be free. He had made sure of that last week when he had asked her if she was going out with anyone. It was only a week ago and there was no way she would have gotten with someone at that time.  
  
Paul noticed movement at his door and he turned from his thoughts and focused his attention to it. He caught Stephanie's face just as she went past the door. He jumped up and went quickly to the door and looked out. What he saw shocked, astonished, and angered him. Stephanie was walking hand in hand with someone he had never seen before. Some guy who had no business with her. Some guy who just screwed up all of his planning!  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred was as nervous as ever. As he and Stephanie walked the halls, superstars would stop what they were doing and turn to see Stephanie's new honey. They all looked shocked but wouldn't approach them. They turned a corner and saw Vince's locker room at the end of the current corridor.  
  
But before they could walk down and enter, they were stopped by the voice of someone they both recognized.  
  
"Well what do we have here? The princess has found herself a victim finally. So what did you choose young sir? Having your still beating heart ripped out, or being tied to a crucifix so everyone could see?" said the tall blond Canadian.  
  
"Shut up Chris," Stephanie said before letting go of Fred and hugging Jericho.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Chris said sticking out his hand to Fred after him and Stephanie were done hugging.  
  
"Hello, nice to meet you as well," Fred said taking his hand and shaking it vigorously. Although he seemed calm on the outside, on the inside he was jumping around and dancing screaming 'I just met Chris Jericho!'  
  
"So who might you be?"  
  
"I'm Fred Ward."  
  
"Ok, and what are you to the lovely Stephanie McMahon here."  
  
Stephanie entered into the conversation then, "He's my boyfriend of course."  
  
"Ah, so you chose the crucifixion."  
  
"Be quiet you, we have to go speak with my father so we'll see you later?"  
  
"Ok, bye."  
  
"Bye," Stephanie and Fred said in unison.  
  
They turned around and made their way towards Vince's locker room. It was time to confront Stephanie's father. It was now or never. They arrived right at the door and stopped. They just stood there.  
  
"Well here goes," Fred said weakly.  
  
Stephanie stopped his hand and held it in both of hers.  
  
"It will be ok. My father will love you. Don't worry," Stephanie said soothingly, rubbing his hand.  
  
Fred nodded, turned the doorknob and stepped inside.  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: Cliffhangers galore! Don't you love it? Anyway, Paul is Triple H, if you didn't know. Oh, I regret in inform you that  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE or any of its characters. The people own themselves, except for Fred Ward. He is mine! hehehe Sorry 'bout that. Thank you for the reviews and a special thank you to Diosa Alexia for staying with this story so far. You rule! Wait, no I do because I'm the KING! Just playing. ^_^  
  
So until next time my murder; same black wings, same damn card. Goodnight everyone!  
  
SYWISY  
  
KoS 


	13. Chapter 13

_-^-_  
  
He had to do something. He was not going to let some off-the-street prick destroy all of his plans that he had been setting up and planning for quite some time. Paul had to do something. He couldn't just sit on his hands while everything that he had worked for is taken away from him. He would have to get between the two of them. That was the only plan that he could come up with.  
  
Paul would have to break the two up and then swoop in on Stephanie like an angel from above. But how? That was what he had to plan. How could he break the two apart? It shouldn't be that difficult since they had just gotten together in the past seven days. Paul thought and thought and thought some more.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred entered the locker room of Vince McMahon and immediately his eyes fell on the man that was burning a hole in the floor as he paced. Vince McMahon looked up from his pacing and stopped. He looked to the two figures standing in front of the door.  
  
Fred noticed Vince's eyes went straight to Fred and his face became stricken and paler than either of the two had ever seen. He then turned to Stephanie and smiled brightly. They went to each other and met halfway at the couch. They embraced tightly and said their hellos.  
  
Fred felt suddenly left out, as if Vince had already cast him out of his thoughts and disregarded his very presence. But Stephanie was not going to let that happen. She quickly turned her fathers attention back to the reason why she was here.  
  
"Dad, you remember Fred Ward right? The man who saved my life?" Stephanie said directing her father's attention to Fred.  
  
"Yes..Yes I do. Why is he here?" Vince said suspiciously. He already knew the answer but he wanted to hear Stephanie say it to him.  
  
"Well dad," Stephanie began, walking from her father and over to Fred. He put his arms around her waist and propped his head on her shoulder, "he's my surprise. He's my boyfriend."  
  
Vince didn't react for a moment; he just seeped in the information. Then he just looked at his shoes and nodded. He looked up from his shoes to Fred.  
  
"Uh, Fred, do you think you could give me and my daughter a moment alone please?" he said with a fake smile stretched across his face.  
  
This made Stephanie confused at it showed on her face, but Fred knew what was happening but didn't want to be rude. He nodded.  
  
"Sure Mr. McMahon, I'll just be around the corner," Fred spoke, letting go of Stephanie's waist, giving her a goodbye kiss, and quickly exited through the door.  
  
He stood on the other side of the door and sat against it. He closed his eyes and sighed watching the circles form behind his lids. He could tell from his reaction that Vince disapproved of his courting his daughter (very much if he read him right).  
  
Fred slowly opened his eyes and set off down the corridor, a lost soul in the house of heaven.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"Dad what the hell was that about?" Stephanie said, confused and angry.  
  
Vince sighed and responded, "Dear, I think this is a conversation between the two of us only."  
  
"And what conversation is that dad?"  
  
"The conversation about what a mistake you're making."  
  
Stephanie couldn't believe her ears, here was her dad disapproving of the man, the only man, who could make her happy like this.  
  
"What the fuck does that mean?" Stephanie's anger coming further to a head but not quite.  
  
"It means that this isn't the kind of man that you want to get involved with, he's carrying the world on his shoulders and he will drop it on to anyone who comes by and you don't deserve that."  
  
"That is not what is happening here, that is so far from the truth it's scary. Yeah, he is carrying the world across his back but he doesn't want to give it to anyone. Hell, he was terribly reluctant to tell me about it and even after he felt bad for telling me because he thought that he had passed some of the burden on to me. But you know what, I would be happy to carry some of that awful weight and you know why? Do have any idea why I would do that for him? Do you?"  
  
Vince sighed yet again and closed his eyes, he knew what she was going to say and he knew it was a load of shit but he resigned himself to hear it anyway.  
  
"Why Stephanie?"  
  
"Because I love him."  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred navigated corridor after corridor, not really doing anything but looking at things. No one paid attention to him, which he didn't mind. He was in a mix of emotions at the moment, he was both nervous with his stomach in knots for the decision from Vince and he was excited with his heart in his throat from the fact that he was at a WWE event backstage. He saw superstar after superstar and his heart did back flips after back flips from the sight of them.  
  
'Holy shit there's Billy Gunn and Funaki and Big Show and Undertaker,' he said to himself.  
  
It was amazing; he was living a dream at this moment. But as soon as he got too happy with his situation, he was rocketed back to the present by a muscular, big-nosed man leaning against a wall around the corner from where he currently was.  
  
"I know I was totally shocked too," Fred heard Paul say to another, unknown person, " But how do you think I feel, what with me going out with Steph and all? It shocked me at first and I couldn't do anything but now I'm pissed. But she's talking with her dad right now and he's got a people there to stop anyone from coming in after them. It really sucks."  
  
Fred was frozen in his spot. Stephanie, going out with someone else? His eyes were wide and he stumbled back and then ran. He didn't see Paul come from behind the corner with no one else and laugh at the sight of a retreating Fred.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"God dammit dad, why won't you listen to what I want?" Stephanie yelled at her father.  
  
"Because Stephanie, you are being stupid and unreasonable," replied her father icily.  
  
"I'm not the one being stupid here, you're the one who doesn't want his daughter to be in love with someone."  
  
"I never said that I didn't want you to be in love, I said that this Fred Ward is the wrong person for you."  
  
"And who are you to decide who is and who is not good for me?"  
  
"I am you're father Stephanie and I know what is best."  
  
"Jesus Christ dad, I am a grown woman and can make decisions for myself, good ones at that. That's the reason you appointed me General Manager."  
  
"Yes, that is why I named you General Manager because I thought that you could make good decisions but in this instance you have made a bad decision. Now I am your father and my decision is that you cease a relationship with this Fred Ward and that is final!"  
  
_-^-_  
  
Fred raced down the corridor getting looks from all he passed. He needed to go see Stephanie; he had to know if she was dating someone else. It would eat him up if he didn't find out.  
  
But on his way to Vince's office, he accidentally ran headlong into someone, knocking the both to the cement floor.  
  
Fred shook his head, shaking the cobwebs from his head and looked at the person he had hit. Chris Jericho looked back at him with a smile.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the crucified one himself," he said as he got up. "Here let me give you a hand."  
  
Chris extended a hand to Fred and he took it graciously and pulled himself up. They both dusted themselves off and looked at each other again.  
  
"So what was so important that you needed to break the sound barrier to get down the hallway?" the blonde Canadian asked.  
  
"Oh, I need to go see Stephanie," Fred said, making a move to go down the hallway but being stopped by Jericho's arm.  
  
"Well, you won't be seeing her now at least. Vince's office is being guarded and they won't let anyone through. Trust me, I've tried. The cement liked me then too."  
  
Fred laughed in a small way but only out of necessity, because if he didn't find out about this whole Paul/Stephanie thing he was going to start pulling his hair out in clumps and he knew from experience that he looked terrible bald. Then a thought dawned on Fred's head and he looked at Jericho with hope.  
  
"Hey, you're friends with Stephanie aren't you?"  
  
"I would call us more best friends but that works too. Why?"  
  
"Well, I heard Paul Levesque talking with someone, and he said that he and Stephanie were going out. Is that true?"  
  
Jericho looked at Fred for a second and then busted out in laughter. He had to clutch at a nearby table to keep his balance. Tears were staining his cheeks when he finally gained his composure and he quickly wiped them away and looked at Fred still giggling and chuckling slightly.  
  
"You're joking me right? Stephanie and Paul? No, no, that was never anything let alone now. They dated like twice when they were doing that whole married storyline but they never grew into anything. She thought he was boring at stupid and he thought that he was god. She wouldn't touch him with a 30 foot pole."  
  
Fred gave a sigh in relief and this confused Chris, "Don't tell me you believed him?"  
  
Fred shrugged. "Well, we got together at a kind of spur of the moment thing and I have no clue about her personal life nowadays."  
  
"I guess that's a good reason, but you need to know something, here come into my locker room."  
  
Chris led Fred through a 'Chris Jericho' plated door and then closed the door.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"Aren't there some other people you could go out with? Like Kurt Angle or Chris Irvine or Paul Levesque." Vince pleaded with his daughter.  
  
"Uh, yuck dad. First, Kurt and Chris are both my friends and Paul, well, just look at him. He's disgusting," Stephanie said with her face scrunched in disgust.  
  
"Come on Stephanie, I think you're being unfair. He's very gentlemanly and nice."  
  
Stephanie broke out into a fit of giggles at that with the great disapproval of her father. She finally composed herself and responded, "No dad I'm not being unfair, he really is disgusting. But you don't seem to get it yet. No one could make me as happy as I am with Fred, burdened or not it doesn't matter. I love him and neither you or Paul or anyone else will ever change that fact."  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: I am so sorry that I have taken -am counting on fingers- about 3 months to get this out but I haven't felt anything for this story and then I got caught up with Crow-SE (which you should take a look at by the way) and didn't think about this one.  
  
Anywayz, I wanna give yet another big shout out to my home girl (hehe coming from a white boy that sounds so stupid, unless I was Eminem) Diosa Alexia who is frosty (meaning cool) beyond words. You rule, rock, and any other words that you can use in that place.  
  
Oh, and I wanted to shout at Julia and say that my ending 'So until next time my murder; same black wings, same damn card' means a number of different things which I shall now explain in long detail.  
  
I first got the idea from a lyric from an Eminem song that said "So until next time my friends; same blond hair, same rap channel" or something like that. So I used the same thing only incorporating myself into it. 'My murder' are you guys because a murder is a flock of crows which also explains the 'same black wings' part because crows are black -am seeing everyone roll there eyes at me-. And the 'same damn card' part is apparent in my pen name 'King of Spades'. And it all means (combined that is) that I will stay that damn card with those same black wings until next time..figuratively of course.  
  
So that was an extremely long and pointless author's note so I shall fade back into the shadows from whence I came.  
  
So until next time my murder; same black wings, same damn card.  
  
SYWISY  
  
Freezing Fredric  
  
Phredic the Gr8  
  
King of Spades  
  
KoS  
  
..take your pick 


	14. Chapter 14

_-^-_  
  
Stephanie stormed out of her father's office pushing a security guard out of the way. In her anger she didn't even register the fact that his office was being guarded. She didn't really care all she wanted right now was to go to Fred. If anyone could calm her down, it would be him, him with his strong arms and his soothing voice. She calmed in a small way just thinking about him. And this was the man that her father didn't think was good enough for her? She could come up with only one conclusion; her father was becoming delusional in his old age.  
  
He had never been the perfect father that was for sure. Their family had always been a little (if not a lot) dysfunctional and would never be a picture perfect family. But they had also always found a way to make their issues work eventually. And she didn't see this situation to be any different. Her father would come around eventually, he would see what a great guy Fred was and how happy he made her and he would be forced to accept them. But now Stephanie had something else to look forward to; what would Linda and Shane say when they found out that she was dating someone, especially someone like Fred?  
  
She thought about it and found that she wasn't too worried about what they would say because she knew what they would say. Shane and Linda would say what a good family would say to someone in Stephanie's situation; "If he makes you happy than that's all that matters." And that's all that did matter and she didn't understand why her father didn't see that. But he had always been stubborn about things concerning his children. He had always thought that he knew what was best and when he got fixed on something, it took a lot of work to get him to change his view.  
  
Stephanie looked up from her thoughts and found that she had wandered into a deserted corridor of the arena. She supposed that she was so deep into her thoughts that she hadn't taken notice of where she was walking. She shrugged and turned around, making to move back the way she came.  
  
But she ran straight into someone instead and stumbled back a couple of steps. When Stephanie regained her balance she looked up at the person she had run into, meaning to apologize. She saw in front of her a large, muscular, big nosed Paul Levesque.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"You're going to have to change something about yourself if you want to stay in a relationship with Stephanie McMahon," said a serious toned Chris Jericho.  
  
"Anything, I would do anything for Stephanie. What would I have to change?" said Fred Ward.  
  
"Well, you're going to have to be more trustful of her. Believe me, when you become her friend, she protects you in any way possible, even more so if you're her boyfriend. Must be one of those positive McMahon traits that's in her blood."  
  
Fred only nodded and knew what Chris was saying was true. He knew that Stephanie would never do anything to hurt him let alone manipulate him. With this new information stored in his brain, he realized how preposterous the idea of Stephanie dating someone behind his back was. This also got him on a new train of thought; why did Paul say that he was dating Stephanie in the first place?  
  
"Hey Chris, why do you think that Paul said what he did?"  
  
Chris thought for a moment with his left hand rubbing his chin, then he slowly shook his head, "I have no idea, but when Steph didn't want to go out with old big-nose again after their second date, he kept persisting for months afterward. Sending her flowers and such, but when she never responded he eventually gave up. Interesting.. very interesting."  
  
Their conversation was cut short however as the door to Chris' locker room was swung open. When Fred and Chris looked to see who it was, they saw a certain Olympic gold medallist looking back at them with a grin.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"Hey Paul, sorry to bump into you," Stephanie said nervously, remembering when he was obsessed with her and kept sending her gifts and things for months. Now that she was dating someone else she wondered what his reaction would be when he found out.  
  
"Hey Steph, I was looking for you," said Paul.  
  
"Were you? What for?"  
  
"Well, I saw you with that guy earlier and I thought that I might make sure that he was an ok guy so that he didn't hurt you or anything. I saw the two of you split up and I watched him and I saw him do something that I thought you might like to know."  
  
Stephanie registered all that he said and was very freaked out by the fact that she had this manipulative ass following her boyfriend. Fred may have been somewhat muscular but compared to Paul he might as well be a child because he was no match for him (as much as she hasted to admit it to herself).  
  
"So you were following him. What did you see that's so important to me?"  
  
"Well, I saw him bring in some girl from the parking lot and when he had her in a what he thought to be deserted corridor.. he started.. making out with her," said Paul, sounding very sad for having to bring this news, while inside he was laughing evilly.  
  
Stephanie almost laughed out loud herself when he delivered this news. What the hell was this idiot trying to pull? She knew that Fred would never do anything to hurt Stephanie, let alone cheat on her. He knew what he had and he wasn't going to do anything to lose it.  
  
What was he trying to do? Stephanie thought that she would play along with Paul's act and see where it took her. This was another trait that went to all McMahon's; the curiosity to take risks.  
  
"Oh my god.. really? Are you sure that it was him you saw?"  
  
"Positive, it was the same guy I saw you come in with. I'm really sorry Stephanie."  
  
Paul put a hand on Stephanie's shoulder and she had to fight the urge to shove his disgusting hand off. Lord knows where it had been. She pretended to start sobbing into her hands while she was actually laughing; it just came out muffled sounding like sobs from between her fingers.  
  
Then Paul made a shushing noise and pulled her into a hug. Stephanie froze for a second in his arms and knew that she had to get out of this situation quick so that in response she did kick him in his grapefruits.. Oh, sorry, grapes.  
  
Stephanie nodded her head and then pulled away from Paul. She wiped the tears that weren't there off of her face and turned away from Paul.  
  
"I suppose that I better go talk to him. Thanks Paul, I'll see you around," said Stephanie, relieved to almost be out of this situation.  
  
"Your welcome, oh and Steph," said Paul putting his hand on her shoulder again. "I just want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to I will always be more than happy to talk."  
  
Stephanie just nodded her head and went quickly down the corridor, wanting to put as much distance between herself and that slime Paul Levesque.  
  
_-^-_  
  
Well that hadn't gone as he had wanted it to go but he supposed it was a start. He had defiantly planted the seed for Stephanie and her off-the- street boyfriends breakup. He had read it in her face and in her sobs. And he had set a future scene that would result in her getting with him and him getting the gold of the World Heavyweight Championship.  
  
That wasn't supposed to be in the future though. That was supposed to have happened now. She was supposed to melt like butter in his arms and then they would kiss and get together as she grieved over her lost relationship. Oh well, not everything was bound to work out. But at this moment he was very proud of himself.  
  
He had set himself up for a future happiness that would have him ruling the entire company and Vince McMahon eating out of the palm of his hand. He would be in control like he liked it and no off the street punk was going to screw this up for him. He was going to have the belt, the fame, and the McMahon family fortune.  
  
This gave Paul yet another idea. As it formed in his head, he grinned evilly and loved the idea already. With this grin on his face he set off to the office of Vince McMahon.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"Well, now is this the man who has the entire locker room buzzing?" said Kurt Angle.  
  
"Hey Kurt, yeah this is Fred Ward. Fred, this Kurt Angle," Chris Jericho said as the two of them shook hands.  
  
"It's nice to meet you," Fred Ward said calmly smiling, while for the umpteenth time that night was having a huge party in his head that was screaming 'Holy shit I just met the Olympic gold medallist Kurt Angle! Wooooohhhhh!'  
  
"I just came in to meet the man that has our Stephanie wrapped around their little finger," said Kurt making a whirling motion with his finger.  
  
Fred laughed at that, "Well, I wouldn't go that far, and if anything it's the other way around."  
  
"Well that sounds like Stephanie alright. Speaking of which, where is she?"  
  
"Last time we heard she was still in the boss's office," said Jericho.  
  
"Well, she's not there now. I went to check on her there and they said she stormed out a few minutes ago."  
  
"I wonder where she is."  
  
Coincidently at that moment, the door to Chris Jericho's locker swung open once again, accidentally hitting a surprised Kurt Angle in the side and knocking him over a table. The person on the other side of the door cringed as she heard the crashing of the table and all it's salad food contents falling to the floor.  
  
Stephanie McMahon closed the door behind her and tended to a very annoyed Kurt Angle. She couldn't help put laugh at the fact their was a carrot sticking out of Kurt's mouth and a piece of lettuce was sitting on the top of his bald head, not to mention the other assortments of food on him, including ranch dressing all over his jumpsuit.  
  
"Kurt.. are you.. are you alright?" Stephanie said while laughing.  
  
Kurt spit out the carrot in his mouth and looked back at Stephanie hotly, "Oh just perfect, I knew I needed a diet."  
  
_-^-_  
  
Paul stepped into Vince McMahon's office and looked to the elderly man sitting in the office chair behind his desk. Vince looked up from his papers that he had in his hands to Paul and the back down to his papers.  
  
"What can I do for you Paul? I'm somewhat busy at the moment so make this quick," said Vince.  
  
"Can you make time to hear a proposal to get rid of Fred Ward?" said Paul smugly.  
  
This stopped Vince cold and he looked up from his papers. He slowly slid off his glasses and motioned to a chair in front of his desk.  
  
"Please, sit down and let's talk."  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: Hey this came out much quicker than the last one didn't it? Yeah I think it beat my last time by about 2 months and three weeks, so that's improvement. I wanted to get this out quickly so that Frosty Ally Cwazy (you like?) didn't have to do anything to me that involved whips, chains, or waterguns.. -grinning evilly- Hey maybe that wouldn't be so bad..  
  
Anywayz, I hope that you Phred-Heads like this chap. I introduced Kurt but I don't know if I like the way I am portraying him. What do you think? and what do you think I should change about him or anything else in the chap? And what do you think about how I switch back and forth between characters, is it easy to tell where the story is and who's talking or not? Should I change my format?  
  
Well, those were a lot of questions that seem pointless. But trust me, they are for you, the fans. With these questions and your answers I shall come up with new, and hopefully better chapters of 'Distracted Pain'.  
  
So.. Umm.. yeah. I think I'll go now because I'm getting on everyone's nerves and they all have weapons of some kind in their hands varying from knives to guns to sporks. So..bye! -am running away screaming-  
  
'So until next time my murder; same black wings, same damn card. Goodnight everyone!  
  
SOS Oh, and take your pick from these names that you guys think are better:  
  
Freezing Fredric  
  
Phredric the Gr8  
  
Thoth the Wise  
  
King of Spades  
  
KoS  
  
Fe Da  
  
..take your pick! -smiley- 


	15. Chapter 15

_-^-_  
  
"Unbelievable . . . What is he up to?" said a bald Olympian.  
  
"I have no idea, but it is defiantly obvious what old big-nose is trying to do," said a blonde Canadian, "he is trying to break you two up."  
  
Stephanie only nodded her head in thought from her position in Fred's lap with his hands around her waist. They had told each other their respective stories in detail, entailing revulsion at the very thought of their own infidelity from both Stephanie and Fred.  
  
"But why?" said an obviously confused Stephanie McMahon, which was responded by Fred tightening his grip around her waist.  
  
"Well that's kind of obvious babe," said a concerned Fred. "He wants you, not that I blame him. But you have nothing to worry about because his big- nose boogers aren't coming anywhere near you."  
  
This got a giggle out of Steph, which Fred took as an invitation to attack. So as he went to tickling Steph, who in turn started laughing hysterically and rolling on the couch with him, Chris and Kurt just shook their heads, sighed and turned back to the subject at hand.  
  
"Anyways, what should we do about this whole Paul thing?" said Jericho.  
  
At that moment a stagehand knocked on the door and after an invitation, opened the door and announced that Stephanie was to report to the writers for a storyline change in her character. They closed the door again and left the group of four to themselves.  
  
"Well I had better go," Stephanie said, trying to get up from the couch but just getting pulled back again.  
  
"No not yet. You haven't given me a goodbye kiss yet," said Fred gradually closing the distance between their lips. They finally met together and went straight to work, moistening each other's lips and . . . uh . . . tongues.  
  
Chris sighed, flabbergasted. " Are they going to be like this all the time?" he said as the couple made-out on the couch.  
  
Kurt just shrugged and then turned back to the couple that wasn't paying anything any attention except for each other mouths and lips. "Would you get a room?"  
  
_-^-_  
  
What a great idea this was. He hadn't been anymore brilliant until this moment in his opinion. This plan was air tight, nothing could get in its way. Things would shortly be moving in the right direction for Paul Levesque, no doubt about it. Life was about to pick up for the future World Heavyweight Champion.  
  
He was about to have it all; the power, the money, the sex, everything. It would all be his, and in the future, when that ass of an owner McMahon was long dead, he would be the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment. The thought was immense, just the thought itself was powerful. But he couldn't get ahead of himself. Things had to go as planned before he was the all- powerful owner. Things had to be done and time had to pass.  
  
A wicked smile came upon the face of Paul as he thought of the amount of time that it would take for this plan to evolve into what would be the foundation of a new era in the WWE. It would only take a few months, if that. Then he would be reaping the benefits of sleeping with the boss's daughter.  
  
Paul laid his head back with his hands nestled on the back of his skull. He propped his feet up on a nearby table and waited for his upcoming segment on Smackdown.  
  
_-^-_  
  
A storm of brown fury charged down the hallway leaving behind a trail of angry stares and exasperated faces. Stephanie was angry, angrier then she had been when she had fought with her dad. How could he do this to her? He knew she hated him but he still did this anyway. What kind of father was he?  
  
Stephanie stopped in front of Chris Jericho's locker room and entered without knocking. People usually knocked around here but she was far too mad to care. She saw the three men sitting around the TV, watching the show. They all looked with surprise on their faces, faces that turned to worry in a matter of a second at the look on Stephanie's own face.  
  
Fred stood and walked over to Steph and put his hands on her forearms, "What's wrong babe?"  
  
Stephanie closed the distance between them and nestled into his chest as Fred wrapped his arms around her. She felt safe in his arms, as if nothing could touch her. Her father was being an ass and her life in the WWE was going downhill but at least she had Fred. Even though she had only been with him for a few days, she felt like she has known him forever and only now was she seeing him. He was such a rock for her and she definitely needed it.  
  
"Yeah, there is something definitely wrong. My father is being such an asshole," she said from Fred's shirt.  
  
Fred tilted her head to face him and he saw the fear in her eyes. "What's going on Steph?"  
  
"He's having me pair up with Paul in our new storyline together, like we're getting back together."  
  
Fred froze. He literally froze up. He stopped breathing, he didn't move a muscle, and the only thing moving in him was his mind. He fought not to start destroying things and it was hard work. How could Vince do this to Stephanie? He knew that she hated Paul and he knew that Steph and himself were together. So how could he be this stubborn and conniving towards them? Was he that bad of a guy that Vince needed to get a disgusting person like Paul to break them up? Apparently Vince thought so.  
  
"Why would Vince do such a terrible thing?" said Kurt, asking the obvious question.  
  
"Because he too wants to break me and Steph up. Damn, it seems like everyone is out to break us up," said Fred, accidentally letting some of his anger leak through.  
  
"I know babe, but how do we keep from them manipulating us?" said a worried Stephanie.  
  
Fred got an idea, "We play their game."  
  
"What?" said everyone in the room.  
  
"Yeah, we play their game, but we play it back on them."  
  
"What are you talking about Fred?" Steph said.  
  
"Well, we have you do the storyline with Paul right? Well then we fake them both into thinking the plan is working. Then when they spring the trap to break us up, we spring the lie on them and theirs just falls apart."  
  
Stephanie nodded, thinking the plan over. "Sounds good. What do you guys think?"  
  
Chris and Kurt only nodded, giving their agreement to the plan.  
  
"Well then it's settled, I better go tell the writers that I'll do it. Bye," Steph said, waving to Chris and Kurt and giving Fred a kiss before leaving the room.  
  
Fred sighed, "Things are going to get interesting."  
  
_-^-_  
  
Stephanie had a large smile planted on her face as she left the writers of the WWE. She was feeling good about this plan that Fred came up with. It sounded really good. She was actually surprised that he thought of it because she had thought that he would be incredibly protective of her and wouldn't let her even look at other guys let alone tricking them into thinking she liked them. She was pleasantly surprised.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Stephanie saw Paul walking towards her. She decided to put the plan in action and play with Paul's head a bit. This was going to be fun.  
  
"Hey Paul, did you hear? We have a storyline together," Stephanie said sweetly, knowing full well that he must have lobbied for it or mentioned to Vince. He was such an asshole.  
  
"Yeah I heard, isn't that weird?" Paul said, smiling inwardly at how his plan was working.  
  
"Well no not really," Stephanie said flirtatiously, "I mean we do have great chemistry together. We always did do great with the married storyline."  
  
"That's true. I always thought we were really great together."  
  
"I know what you mean. I just wish they would put us together more often."  
  
Stephanie knew she wasn't doing the greatest acting job, but it was just so damn hard not to start gagging at the sight and even smell of this stupid lummox. What did he bathe in, scent of Moose?  
  
"I know. I love being around you, we should hang out more often."  
  
"Yeah we should. I mean we have a lot to talk about with the upcoming storyline."  
  
"Maybe we could even talk about," Paul said, rubbing the edge of his finger up her arm which caused a shudder of disgust from Stephanie that he either didn't feel or he ignored, ", me and you."  
  
Stephanie wanted out of this conversation as quickly as possible. She was not even about to start getting into that field yet. She wanted his pants on. She quickly took a step back and out of the reach of Paul. She thought quickly for a good lie.  
  
"You know, I better see how the show is going. I'll catch up to you later Paul," Stephanie said as she fought the urge to run down the hallway.  
  
She left Paul in the middle of the hallway with a smile on his face. She was playing right into his hands. Soon she would come running into his arms, away from that son of a bitch Fred Ward. She would give him all the power he would ever need and that would be all she wrote. After that it was smooth sailing. She would be too weak to get away from him and he would be too strong to be stopped. It all would have happened by now if that bastard Fred Ward hadn't come into the picture.  
  
He had had it all planned out. He would nuzzle up to Stephanie and gradually become her friend and then he would become her lover and then husband. He would be the most powerful man in the company next to Vince. Then that old fart would croak and all would be left was him. He would be a millionaire.. No, a billionaire. He didn't give a shit what happened to the company. As long as he got the money and the title, everything was fine. He could hire people to run the company for him and all would be well. Anyone who got in his way, he would crush them under the nail of his middle finger.  
  
While all of that sounded good on paper, getting the job done seemed a little harder than Paul had planned. If Fred Ward hadn't come and stolen his key into the McMahon family, he would already be on the right track. So first things first, he had to get rid of Fred Ward. He had already recruited one of the major players in his scheme for WWE domination, but now it was time to get yet another piece of his much larger puzzle.  
  
Paul set off down the hallway towards a very specific locker room for some very illicit business.  
  
_-^-_  
  
"Do we have to go through with this?" whined a Stephanie McMahon who had just entered Chris Jericho's locker room.  
  
"What happened babe?" said an opened armed Fred Ward sympathetically.  
  
Stephanie walked morosely to her lovers open arms and fell into him. He wrapped her in his warm embrace and held her close to his chest. She obliged by nuzzling her head into his neck. She took a deep breath and captured the smell of Fred's aftershave. It smelled of outdoors; grass and fields, trees and forests. It reminded Stephanie of Connecticut and it calmed her and made her feel a whole lot better about everything.  
  
"Oh, nothing," she said, not really caring about the whole Paul situation. "What happened to Chris and Kurt?"  
  
"Oh they went out to do something on the show."  
  
"Oh," Stephanie said before a light clicked on in her head. "Oooooh."  
  
Fred turned so her could look into her eyes. He looked confused.  
  
"What?"  
  
"So that leaves us time to ourselves huh?" Stephanie said with a smile.  
  
A light clicked in Fred's head too and they were now on the same page. "Yeah, I guess it does."  
  
Stephanie teasingly fluttered kisses up Fred's neck and took her sweet time to get to his lips. When their lips finally did meet, they pushed all of their pent up passion outward into that kiss. To onlookers they would have looked like they were trying to swallow one another as they were totally and completely caught up in their kiss.  
  
They were so oblivious to he world around them that they didn't even notice someone knock on the door and then Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho walked through the door. They both stared at the couple making out on the couch and groaned.  
  
"Are we gonna have to endure this much longer?" Kurt whined.  
  
"Kurt, buddle ole pal, I think this is gonna go on for a very long time. And I don't mean tonight either," said Chris, slapping the Olympian on the back.  
  
"Well I'm not eating at the shows ever again. I wouldn't want to throw it up every time I open a door onto a making out couple now would I?"  
  
_-^-_  
  
A/N: I know, I know. It took me a long time to get this out. But I do have good reasons. I have been trying to write a book that could get published and make me and my family money. And although I only have about 33 pages of it done, I still think it is very good. I mean it took Stephen King around 12 years to finish The Gunslinger so I can take my time.  
  
So, because of that, I had to put all of my stories on the backburner. I even put Crow-SE on hiatus. Now I'm back, but I don't know how often I will be able to get out chapters of this story. But, even though I have high school, dying family members, and a very stupid sister to deal with, I will try to update as often as I can. Thank you for your attention.  
  
Oh, and as a sidenote, if I got a few more reviews, I might update a whole lot because I have the whole thing planned out in my head. It's just a matter of writing it is all. So, keep those reviews coming. And tell your friends about me. ;)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters represented in this work of fiction, they are owned by the WWE and themselves.  
  
So until next time my murder; same black wings, same damn card.  
  
Fe Da / King of Spades / a lot of other stuff too 


End file.
